I’m sure I am not the first to do this unfortunate deed,however I would like some input.While working on my Proto E-6, I managed to break off one of the ears on the U-joint between the motor and the worm gear.Does anyone have a simple fix? I tried to glue it but it shot off my tweezers like bullet.Of course there are no replacement parts available to make it simple due to its age.Any help would be appreciated.
There are u-joints available from A-Line http://ppw-aline.com/re-power.htm (scrol to bottom of page) (try http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ to see if they have the part you need in stock and to avoid having to meet the minimum payment requirement of the A-Line site. Athearn will also fit.
You can try drilling out the place where the pin was and insert a snip of metal, perhaps a piece of pin will do it.
ROAR
Interesting fix, Lion. How about cutting off the other pin, drill through the shaft and insert a piece of .O15’’ music wire CA’ed in the hole. Of course you would have to smooth out the end’s of the wire. [:)]
Heck…You can even use a piece of brass rod…I use that a lot in my model truck builds.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Lion and Frank’s fix will do the job, Wire may cause unwanted wear within the socket. I did a reapair w/ the wire once, and it worked OK, but even w/ continued lube was causing wear and a small driveline wobble/ vibration. Those parts were available then and replace the damaged ones. but since any Proto ones will be rather difficult to find, You could drill out but replace w/ Engineering plastic. The Kadee sprues may be quite close to the size needed for those “Lugs”. Even if slighty oversized the ends can be sanded down for the proper clearance in the socket.
Riley, I used a BB Athern U Joint and it worked fine.
Cuda Ken